RetroUSB's Retroport quick video review

Nothing makes me happier than swag ... except when brown little packages of the non-poop variety show up at my doorstep for hardware review on Destructoid. This weekend we received one from RetroUSB which contained their new Retroport product, which is quite simply a cable adapter that allows you to plug a classic square or doggybone NES controller into your PC's USB port. As you'll see in my video above, the thing works right out of the box with no drivers and all you have to do is map the buttons to your emulator, just as you would any standard computer joystick. Easy as pie.

So do I recommend this thinger? Heck yes! I can't fawking stand playing emulators on a fancy Sidewinder controller and the joystick selection for PCs at Best Buy and CompUSA is usually overpriced and laughable so it's great that you can use the old solid controllers that can take a beating. I also like playing Ninja Gaiden 2 on long airplane trips for some reason, so I can't wait to see the confused face of my single-serving friend when I whip out an NES pad.

One discrepancy in the video: they do NOT ship controllers with the adapter (that was just special for Mua) -- it's $22 for the adapter alone, but you can buy a complete prewired USB NES controller for $30 though. They also have adapters for the Wii & Gamecube -- which I only recommend for purists like myself. If you already have an old joystick in the closet, it comes out to the same price as a classic controller (sans analog support obviously) so the price isn't low, but it's just about right.

Don't be confused when the fuse is up,
And you're taking a leak,
Into your brother's cup.
When the cup is filled,
You can run and be killed,
In the billion miles,
Of the muscles that build. Rad... more

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